music Academy Of The West Officially Marks Start Of Fundraising And Campus Renovation Efforts
For Immediate Release september 26, 2007
Contact:
Tim Dougherty
805.695.7908
Santa Barbara, CA— The Music Academy of the West held a groundbreaking ceremony September 25 to mark the start of a major renovation effort involving its principal on-campus recital facility. Project donors, board directors, members of the renovation design team, journalists, and Music Academy staff attended the event.
Attorney James E. Davidson, who chairs the Board of Directors for the Music Academy, used the occasion to announce the launch of a campaign to raise funding for the $15 million project. Mr. Davidson introduced Board members Nancy Hunter and Diane Sullivan, who have been named co-chairs for the fundraising initiative, titled “Composing the Future: The Renaissance Campaign.” Scheduled to conclude by August 2008, the campaign already has raised more than 50 percent of the funds needed to complete the recital hall renovation, which is part of a multiyear effort to upgrade Music Academy facilities. He also thanked donors who have contributed to the Composing the Future campaign, highlighting the support of Carla and Stephen Hahn, for whom the new recital hall will be named, as well as Leatrice Luria, who with her late husband Eli Luria, provided leadership support early in the project’s development. Mr. Davidson also announced the contribution of a new $1 million matching grant by an anonymous donor in August. Under the grant guidelines, all gifts received by June 2008 will be matched dollar for dollar up to $1 million.
“The Music Academy has officially surpassed the halfway point in our fundraising for the recital hall renovation. This new $1 million grant is a wonderful boost to our efforts,” said Mr. Davidson, an estate and tax planning specialist with the firm Fell, Marking, Abkin, Montgomery, Granet & Raney LLP in Santa Barbara. “We are so pleased with the community support for the Composing the Future campaign, and are confident that other area philanthropists will contribute the necessary funds to complete this important project.”
When it is inaugurated in June at the start of the Music Academy’s 2008 Summer School and Festival, Hahn Hall will include seating for 350. Phillips Metsch Sweeney Moore Architects is overseeing the renovation project in collaboration with the renowned acoustics consulting firm McKay Conant Brook. The renovated facility will feature vastly improved acoustics, a raked floor for improved sightlines, new and larger bathrooms, a remodeled lobby, a ticket office, upgraded electrical and mechanical capabilities, and easy handicap access. Related site improvements will include a substantial increase in parking spaces, a widened main driveway for improved vehicular circulation, elegant landscaping, and improved pedestrian access from lower parking lots to campus facilities. The renovated building, related facilities, and site improvements will provide for an enhanced experience overall for Academy faculty, students, and patrons, as well as area arts organizations expected to use the venue, according to Music Academy President NancyBell Coe.
The Music Academy is offering donors several unique naming and endowment opportunities within the new recital hall and throughout the campus grounds, including intimate garden spaces and new community gathering areas, according to Scott Reed, the Academy’s Vice President for Institutional Advancement. Naming opportunities also are available for instructional and rehearsal studios used by Academy faculty and students, and community performing arts organizations throughout the year, he said.
“Personalized naming opportunities are available for commitments starting at $100,000. Additionally, we will recognize commitments of $25,000 and above with a beautiful donor fountain,” said Mr. Reed.
For more information on naming and endowment opportunities or for a campus tour highlighting the renovation project, contact Mr. Reed at 805.695.7914 or sreed@musicacademy.org.
Founded in 1947, the Music Academy of the West is among the nation’s preeminent summer schools and festivals for gifted young classical musicians. The Academy provides these promising musicians with the opportunity for advanced study and frequent performance under the guidance of internationally renowned faculty artists, as well as guest conductors and soloists. Admission to the Academy is strictly merit based, and Fellows receive full scholarships (tuition, room, and board). Academy alumni are members of major symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, ensembles, opera companies, and university and conservatory faculties throughout the world. Many enjoy careers as prominent solo artists. Based in Santa Barbara, the Music Academy of the West presents more than 175 public events annually, including performances by faculty, visiting artists, and Fellows; masterclasses; orchestra and chamber music concerts; and fully staged opera. For more information, visit www.musicacademy.org.
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